


Following the Strings

by jar_of_stars



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mind Control, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:28:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25832077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jar_of_stars/pseuds/jar_of_stars
Summary: Loki’s arrest after the Chitauri attack goes differently as members of the Avengers begin to realize that there is more behind the invasion.This is an expansion toSabotagefrom my AU oneshotsSplit Ends
Comments: 11
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to ImperialDragon, CrownFinancier, kwong_r, and the guest who commented on the oneshot version of this story.

“Code Chanter.” These were the first words Clint said to Natasha as soon as he regained consciousness. The blue haze over his vision faded and he felt lighter, no longer hearing the whispers of Loki’s and _that voice’s_ commands in the back of his mind.

Chanter, one of their previous targets, turned out to be taking a crime boss down from the inside. Knowing that Loki was in a similar position put their mission into a new perspective. What Natasha previously thought to be amateur mistakes made by Loki, were deliberate opportunities to be stopped. They contacted Fury with the new information and set out to carry out their new orders.

They were separated while fighting the Chitauri but both made it back into Stark’s tower to where they heard was Loki’s last known location. The battle was over. Natasha placed the scepter away on a table while Thor kept the tesseract. She gathered with the rest of the Avengers to see the Hulk holding Loki down on the cracked floor with one hand.

“He got knocked out.” Clint confirmed her assumption of the Norse God’s condition.

When Loki blinked a few times, he flinched at the sight of the Hulk and gasped in pain at his own sudden movement.

The Hulk looked closer and removed his hand. “Not same.”

Natasha shared a look with Clint while the other members of the team glanced between Loki and the Hulk.

Loki closed his eyes as Hulk raised his hand towards him and gave another gasp of pain when he tried to move away. Instead of getting hit as he anticipated, Loki was surprised to be slowly cradled into one giant green hand and placed onto a couch. The Hulk narrowed his eyes at him, but it was not in anger. Natasha could tell that he was trying to puzzle out the change that occurred when Loki lost consciousness.

“I’ll take him back to Asgard.” Thor approached them. “He needs to face the Allfather’s judgement.”

“NO! NOT SAME!” Hulk roared at Thor before turning around to block their view of Loki.

Natasha weighed the pros and cons of having the Hulk as Loki’s bodyguard for the moment. They still needed to wait for Fury to arrive and question Loki on his mission. “Hulk what is different about Loki now?” She asked as a form of distraction before a fight could break out between the team’s two heavy hitters.

Hulk scowled at the scepter, where she had left it earlier. “Energy different.” He curiously poked Loki’s side with a finger. “No more fighting.”

“The scepter?” She prompted as she saw Loki’s discomfort to the Hulk’s proximity and prodding.

Loki coughed and spoke hoarsely. “Destroy scepter.” He stared at the ceiling to avoid seeing the Hulk.

Natasha glanced pass the Hulk to where Rogers stood near Loki.

“Your scepter?” Rogers asked.

“Not mine…” Loki cleared his throat, “corrupt magic, scrying from other side. Destroy it.”

Rogers may have also noticed something when he gave a nod and stepped back to speak to Thor. “What does scrying mean?”

Thor crossed his arms in irritation. “A branch of magic. A way to see into the future or to spy on someone at the moment.”

“Other side?” Stark continued to keep a considerable amount of space between himself and Loki as he directed his question to him. “You were being watched from the other side of the cube?”

“Yes, watched to follow their orders.”

“You cannot delay our return to Asgard.” Thor moved towards Loki while holding a pair of manacles but was pushed aside by Hulk. He did not notice how his brother watched him with a guarded stare.

“No. Not go.” The Hulk stood taller as he challenged Thor with clenched fists. “Energy different now.”

Natasha cut in. “We need answers from Loki. We should work on that while he is still here.”

Both Thor and Stark protested.

“He will not answer.”

“You already tried that.”

Loki coughed again as he tried to speak.

“Answer?” Hulk asked Loki.

“Yes.” Loki shifted as much as he could to look directly at the spies. “I’ll answer.”

Natasha made a mental note that four out of six of the team agreed to hear Loki’s side. From Thor’s behavior, it sounded like Asgard had already made up their mind on Loki and it would be beneficial for him to cooperate with them.

They needed to wait for Fury and move on from there. Hulk sat down in front of Loki who had lost consciousness a few minutes after agreeing to being questioned by SHIELD. Everyone else sat together to set the terms with Thor and Asgard.

A team of SHIELD agents arriving to the top floor of the tower interrupted them. “We are to take custody of Loki, the scepter, and the tesseract.” The agent in front of his unit addressed them.

“No one and nothing will be removed from here without Director Fury’s presence.” Clint stated their latest order.

The agents did not argue but remained in the room until Fury arrived and ordered the SHIELD agents to return to headquarters. The director took a seat with the Avengers and finished setting up their terms.

After debating, it was agreed that Thor will take the tesseract and scepter back to Asgard and SHIELD will have custody of Loki for questioning. Fury did not want to give up the tesseract but recognized that Thor needed it to return to Asgard and SHIELD was not prepared to fight against additional enemies stepping through another portal from the cube. By letting Thor take the artifacts they would not completely alienate a potential ally.

Thor, in turn, required a record of any information Loki might give them and warned them that he will have to return Loki to Asgard if his father ordered it. Fury requested to know the results of the studies done to the scepter to compare it with Loki’s testimony.

Once they had their agreements, Hill arrived with the paperwork to have signed by Fury and Thor.

“Thor, I need to ask you something.” Clint forced the question out before anyone got up from the table. “Do you know of someone named Thanos?”

Natasha and Fury saw the recognition flash in Thor’s eyes.

“How have you knowledge of the Mad Titan?” Thor asked with suspicion.

“He was the one who sent Loki here… I think it was the mind link. I saw him through Loki’s memories.” Clint explained when prompted by Thor. “I heard Thanos and someone else threatening him. Loki was able to see our location and get into our minds. It must have worked both ways.”

“This is something to be investigated.” Thor glanced to the back of the couch where his brother did not stir from. The Hulk noticed him looking in Loki’s direction and growled lowly at him. “I will tell you if there is news of the Mad Titan.”


	2. Chapter 2

Thor did not return to Asgard’s observatory until Loki was admitted to a medical room. Loki was not aware of anything that happened to him while Thor helped the Midgardian healers remove his armor and replace it with a patient robe. Thor saw the scars, burns, and wounds that covered Loki’s body and told the doctors that his brother was recuperating at a slower rate than usual. 

He took a deep breath and took the moment needed to prepare before facing his parents. He did not fully complete his mission to bring Loki back and he expected the worst reactions. The scepter was placed in a case made by SHIELD after they knew of how it affected anyone near it. Thor’s hold of the case’s handle tightened when Heimdall bowed in greeting. He knew that his father could see him during his time on Midgard without relying on the gatekeeper’s assistance.

“The Allfather is waiting for you.” Heimdall said in an even tone and gave no clue to Odin’s mood.

Thor nodded and ignored the guards stationed to take Loki if he had brought him back to Asgard. He used the tesseract one more time to teleport himself to the chamber in the royal wing where he was to meet his parents. “Father, Mother.” He bowed to them and placed the case and tesseract on the table in front of them along with Loki’s armor. He was not sure what it fully meant that this was being kept out of the court.

Odin was the first to speak. “Thor, I saw that the invasion on Midgard has been stopped, but you left Loki with the mortals. How do you know that he will not cause trouble?”

“The Midgardians insisted on questioning Loki. I have given their leader the restraints to limit his magic and strength. We shall be able to use the tesseract to stop Loki if we need to.”

“Do you believe Loki to be a danger to the mortals?” Odin asked.

He knew the actual question was if he is sure that Loki did not trick him. Thor pushed away his brother’s taunt of _‘You always fall for it’_. Loki had all of those injuries and did not respond to anything happening to him when being moved from the tower.

“Once caught, Loki did not try to escape. He was not healing at a normal pace…” Thor paused when he remembered that he had not been able to talk with Loki at all. “The battle should not have hurt him the way it did.”

Frigga spoke with an even tone but could not hide the worry in her eyes. “What more happened?”

“They have a berserker that defeated Loki. The Hulk noticed that there was something different about Loki when he regained consciousness for a moment. Loki was awake for a few minutes and it was too long until he was able to open his eyes again.”

“Did Loki say anything else?”

“No. He only opened his eyes for a moment before Midgard’s healers could tend to him. We were unable to tell him where he was before he lost his awareness again. I don’t believe he realized that we moved him.” 

“The mortals may see him as a threat and would take this chance to harm him. I would have Loki brought here as soon as possible.” Odin said.

“The director promised that Loki will not be harmed.” Thor replied quickly.

“We shall send healers.” Frigga advised as she looked between them. “They will see to Loki’s health and will be able to subdue him if needed. The mortals would not feel as intimidated if we sent healers instead of guards.”

“Aye.” Thor agreed and reached for the case. “The Midgardians will need forewarning of their arrival. I’m sure Heimdall can watch him for the time being. We need to know how much danger the scepter is. Loki used it to control Midgardians and it is suspected that Loki was not in full control of himself.”

“What else were the terms you made with the mortals?” Odin asked.

“To tell them what we discover about the scepter that Loki was using. He said that it was not his. Agent Barton told me that Loki was forced to work for someone else to conquer Midgard.”

“Do you believe the mortal’s word?” Odin nearly pinned him in place with his stare.

“No mortal would know of Thanos.” He saw both of them pale at hearing the Mad Titan’s name.

“He named Thanos?” Odin asked in disbelieve.

“Yes. Barton gave statement that Loki was tortured into accepting his role in the invasion.” Thor gestured to the case. “Loki said the scepter was corrupted with magic and that it should be destroyed. He claimed that he was being watched through it to follow orders.”

“Thanos was not defeated. He was banished away from the nine realms…” Odin stopped speaking as he remembered the battle.

“He was banished to the void.” Frigga elaborated, she could not cover the fear in her voice. “If Loki fell where Thanos was able to find him, the tesseract would have been the only way he could reach the realms and get away.”

“We shall evaluate the scepter.” Thor declared in want for action. “I will collect any information from the mortals that they get from Loki. They sent us reports of the battle for our own assessment.” He passed the files to Odin.

Thor stayed silent as his parents read through the records from all the Avengers. Even the Hulk was given an interview for his part of the battle. He wondered why the berserker defended Loki when he was the one who last fought him. He saw the Hulk growl and scowl at him whenever he closed his eyes.

He stole a glance at his parents and wondered if they were reading Barton’s report. The mortal explained the appearance of the stitches and burns all over Loki’s body. It was Barton’s testimony that convinced Thor to allow the mortals’ request for an investigation.

Thor could not forget how Loki did not react to having his eyes held open by the healers and having a light shined into them. The Midgardians attached so many machines to his brother without Loki being alert through any of it. He knew he was frustrating the healers with his questions but he needed to know what the equipment they were using on Loki did. He wouldn’t have to ask the same things over and over again if they did not answer with their curt terms and acronyms without telling him anything. Luckily, a patient doctor was able to take the time to describe what everything did.

“We will prepare a room with wards to unravel the magic surrounding the scepter.” Odin brought him back from his thoughts.

He nodded in agreement. “I want to be there for it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of torture and referenced suicide tags have been added for this chapter.

_Clint stayed hidden as he kept watch of their hideout. He saw people he did not recognize deliver boxes just outside their warehouse but they had clearance. Loki told them not to engage as soon as he thought of contacting him. In the evening, Loki announced that the second group arrived at their posts and that his shift was over. He was to eat something and rest. He found out that the packages that arrived earlier that day contained food for them._

He never thought that he would get compromised and still did not know how much control he had of himself during that time. He was aware of the distrust from the agents he fought against. It became difficult at times to remain impartial.

Clint entered the conference room and took his seat in front of Hill and Fury. He and the several mind controlled agents received a schedule for separate sessions. They will talk and receive help from what they experienced and check that the control cannot be reconnected by someone else. Until he was fully cleared, he was not allowed on missions.

Fury was the first to speak. “We read the reports but we still have to hear this from you.”

Clint nodded. “I’m ready.”

Hill opened the file in front of her. “You mentioned that while Loki sent orders to you and the compromised agents through the scepter, you were able to hear another voice besides his.”

_He held his breath and kept still when he heard the other voice. No one wanted to anger it._

“Yes, it was a threat. Loki would freeze up whenever that voice would speak to him…I couldn’t move.” He admitted as he felt the phantom pains of cuts and broken limbs that he had not personally gone through but remembered. He rolled one of his shoulders to prove to himself that the bones were not shattered.

“Can you repeat what this threat was?” Hill asked and brought a page to the front of the file.

“If you fail, if the tesseract is kept from us…” Clint closed his eyes and tried not shiver when he remembered each word from _that_ voice. “There will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain.”

 _‘There is no escape from this rock…unless I fall again.’_ The ground crumbled under his feet and a black canvass surrounded him. He felt a grip on his heart, this time without an actual hand taking hold of it.

Clint opened his eyes and pushed away the hopelessness of Loki’s memory. Hill met his gaze over a sheet of paper she was reading. “The agents under the scepter’s control recited the same threat.” She handed the page to him.

He was relieved that he was not the only one to hear the second voice. He thought he heard it from his proximity to Loki during that time. “The threat was repeated when we were at a hideout waiting for the next step.”

“Then we can assume that they checked if Loki was idle for too long.” Hill wrote down a note in her file.

“Loki did not care for his injuries. Everything is jumbled up but he thought that another fall would kill him…He planned to die.” Clint saw Hill make another note and suspected that someone else had already mentioned this. “He should be able to speak to someone about that.”

Hill nodded after she finished writing. “Who is the ‘He’ that would carry the threat if Loki failed?”

“Barton?” Fury prodded him to speak.

Clint felt his blood drain. He never met the one planning everything but he would recognize _him_ from what he had seen through the mind link. He thought of Natasha who promised to talk to him after this session was over and reminded himself that this would affect more than just them in this room.

“Thanos.” Clint answered and resisted the urge to check over his back. “The mind link.” He started slowly trying to put the experience into words. “Whenever Loki was being threatened, there were…memories of the torture he had gone through. I had already written about it.” He pressed his hand against his stomach where he knows- _where he felt_ the incision and someone’s hand moving between Loki’s organs.

“Did you see memories or hear thoughts from the other captured agents?” Hill asked without drawing attention to Barton’s movements.

“No. I only heard Loki…and Thanos’ messenger.”

“Did you interact with the other agents while controlled?”

“Not unless we were collecting things for Loki’s mission or being handed food. We did not have conversations.”

“We compared the injuries from your report and of those from the other agents with the wounds Loki has.” Hill stated. “Loki obtained injuries far before his arrival here. We compared footage from the fights and most injuries were not caused from them.”

 _Loki told them not be concerned over his injuries._ Clint stopped himself from rubbing his hands over his arms when he felt the pinpricks of needles through his skin.

“His interrogation date will be set once he is cleared by the doctors.” Fury announced. “Hill will get his testimony.”

Hill held a hand up before anything more could be said. “There is a call from Stark.” She notified Fury with her hand now going to her ear. “Thor is at Avenger tower and requires a meeting with you.”

“Let him know that someone will be sent to bring him here.” Fury replied and asked Barton to call Romanov. It had been four days after the invasion and without any change in Loki’s condition. They would not gain anything from the unconscious god. He will need to negotiate with Thor in person if Odin decided to take Loki back to Asgard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, commenting, and giving kudos. The feedback means a lot to me. If there are any concerns over the rating and tags, please let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

_“Go to hospital!”_ The Hulk yelled.

“He hasn’t woken up yet. There is nothing to do there.” Bruce muttered and cringed when he remembered that he was not alone in the lounge room.

“What was that?” Tony asked after turning off his phone and telling Thor that someone will take them to speak with Fury.

“It’s…” Bruce looked between the other two with him and explained with reluctance. “It’s the other guy. He wants to visit Loki in the hospital room.” He had questions of his own but he would prefer to stay away from SHIELD. The Hulk remained in control when giving his report post battle and Bruce did not want to be left in the dark like that again.

Thor was glaring at him. The god was not looking directly at him but Bruce sensed the feeling. And now the other guy picked up on his nervousness but he did not want to lose himself and have the Hulk take over. He thought of leaving the room but did not trust Stark to not upset Thor if he left them alone.

 _“Loki stays here!”_ The Hulk’s grumbling got louder.

Bruce closed his eyes and rubbed his temples as the Hulk growled steadily. He sighed and tried not to provoke the Norse God with his question. “Thor, are you taking Loki to Asgard?”

“No, I am going to bring healers for him. I am here to secure their accommodations.” Thor crossed his arms. “Does the Hulk really think my brother would agree to see him?”

“Well, he won’t actually be able to say anything on that matter.” Tony shrugged as he sorted the pieces left from the phone crushed in Thor’s hold from his first attempt to speak with the director.

“What do you mean by that?” Thor narrowed his eyes. He had Mjolnir tied to his belt but it was still too easy to recognize the threat of having the weapon within reach.

“He is still unconscious.” Tony told him. “We did not hear anything from SHIELD. Even the hacked files show nothing new.”

“How long has it been here?” Thor asked.

“Four days since you left.” Bruce answered.

“Four days?” Thor saw Bruce nod to confirm. That much time had not passed in Asgard but four Midgard days was too long for Loki not to recuperate. “Your berserker harmed Loki.” He denounced as dark clouds gathered outside.

Bruce told himself that he did not see Thor’s hand twitch towards Mjolnir.

* * *

Thor tried not to scowl at Banner. The Hulk was the one who he was upset at, not the mortal. His mission was to collect the tesseract and Loki. The berserker hurt his brother and then acted as his protector. But according to Barton’s record, Loki getting hurt was what broke the mind control. He grimaced at how complicated this was as the bag with some of Loki’s things felt heavier on his shoulder. His mother packed it and he hoped the Captain was right about having something from home would help his brother when he wakes up.

“How strong are you guys supposed to be?” Stark asked Thor while tapping something on his phone. “Most of us got a good hit at him.”

He imagined an illusion of Loki’s fading at the word ‘hit’.

“What?” Thor turned his attention to Stark.

“We reviewed the videos. You skipped out on it when you stayed at the medical room.” He explained. “Cap got to him at Stuttgart before you dropped on us from the sky and grabbed him when we were passing over the mountains.”

“He let us hit him.” Thor looked at their stunned expressions and raised his voice as he spoke. “I should not have been able to grab him when he was in your custody. My hand would have gone- _it should have gone through his illusion!”_

 _‘When are you going to stop falling for that?’_ Loki taunted him in his mind.

Loki did use his illusion later but he passed up the moment to make him look foolish in front of the mortals.

“Where is Fury!?” Thor snapped. “I need to see everything I missed.”

* * *

Banner closed the door behind him and left Thor alone with Stark. He tried to ignore the Hulk taking the thunder heard from outside as a challenge to snarl louder. He hoped that the meeting with SHIELD will not include him.

* * *

The Hulk grumbled through his thoughts when Banner continued to ignore him.

_Scepter made all angry._

_Hulk won fight and Loki lost anger. Anger stayed with scepter. Know scepter is strong. Different energy. Feels wrong._

_Hulk not scared. Stay away from scepter anyway._

_Thor here now._

_Hulk stop Thor from taking Loki._

_Want to know why Loki stopped fighting. Want to see Loki. Ask why. Why not angry? Why too different after fight? Why go with spies? Why not wake up and talk to Hulk?_

_Hulk answer SHIELD to see Loki. But SHIELD hides Loki. SHIELD wanted Banner but made trap for Hulk._

_SHIELD lies._

_SHIELD is spies. Scepter spies. Don’t trust them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Hulk is still investigating.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Steve was given a brown leather bag with drawstrings from Thor when he greeted him at the door to their Avenger meeting. He carried the bag into the room and took the seat next to Bruce, who looked resigned in his chair. Steve kept the metal bands that Thor had given him. Part of him wanted to give them back but the other half thought to keep them if they proved to be necessary. He asked to be on stand-by when Loki woke up just in case.

He had gone to Loki’s medical room at Thor’s request. Steve told him that there was nothing new in Loki’s status but Thor seemed to already know when he accepted the information. He wondered if Loki would remember his agreement to being questioned and asked Thor for something familiar to give him once he woke up as a sign of their truce. Steve already knew what it was like to wake up to a world where things didn’t fit with what he remembered. The god would cause more damage if he felt the need to run away.

There was a change in Loki’s eyes after his defeat.

‘No more fighting.’ The Hulk’s comment made sense to him.

* * *

Thor addressed everyone once he stood at the head of the table with the Director of SHIELD across from him. “We would have three of Asgard’s healers arrive to tend to Loki. Eir, our head healer, and two assistants.”

“Is there something you would need of us?” Fury asked while having a silent conversation with Agent Hill.

“A place for them to stay and store their equipment.” Thor stated.

“We should be able to prepare the space for them near Loki’s medical room.” Agent Hill answered for the director. They recognized that what Thor was telling them was already planned by Asgard and not a request. “You can have a look and tell us if it is acceptable.”

“That is agreeable.”

Agent Hill nodded. “Is there progress on the scepter?”

“Preparations are being made to investigate the scepter. The healers will arrive with the results. Has there been any change in Loki’s condition?”

Stark had already shown him the files and Rogers had told him from his personal account about Loki’s state, but he would see what the official reports say.

Fury was the one to answer. “No, Loki has not woken since your previous departure. We have a copy of the record for you.”

“There is another matter to discuss concerning Loki.” Thor made sure to look at everyone at the table as they waited for him to continue. “His tactics.” He saw everyone sit up straighter at the subject change. “He could have easily taken the place of one of your agents and intercepted your orders while going on with his mission. Loki wouldn’t even need the scepter.”

“Is that his usual approach?” Natasha asked.

“It should have been for this plan.” Thor said.

Fury followed his agent’s line of question. “If you would go through this invasion thinking like Loki does, how would it have gone?”

“No one would know of his arrival and he would have you chase someone else within your own organization if suspicion arises. Or he would mix up orders between departments just to see what would happen. Loki would choose someone like Maria Hill to make you question who you can trust and have your organization collapse from the inside.” Thor looked at the rest of the Avengers. “He would convince us that we are better working on our own and have us fight each other instead of stopping him.”

“Is there anything else from your investigation or any of your own questions for Loki once he wakes?” Agent Hill asked.

_Why did you let go?_

Thor’s heart skipped a beat as he recalled losing Loki to the void. He hid his lapse from the mortals as he spoke. “The inner part of his armor and his clothing were of material that is not of Asgard. We are making a separate investigation for this but I have a sample of it. Perhaps Loki will identify it when questioned.” He passed a small black box to Director Fury. “Apart from that, I have nothing else…”

* * *

“Now that I think about it, Loki could have used the agents mind controlled more against SHIELD.” Clint looked at the rest of the team. “We could have been used as hostages or he could have controlled more agents.”

He always thought that this room was too cold and forced himself to sit still. He refused to fidget with his jacket and he ignored Loki’s memories of cold, ice, and revulsion. “Thor, can you tell us more about how you knew that Loki was here?”

“Heimdall was alerted when Loki used the tesseract’s power to get here.”

“He did not see Loki before he appeared?” Clint asked the question that often ran through Loki’s mind.

“No.” Thor shook his head. “Heimdall only watches the nine realms. We all thought Loki died.”

_They didn’t look for him…_

“That is something that has been unclear.” Fury looked at Thor. “What led to Loki’s supposed death?”

“I would not be able to answer that.” Thor replied curtly.

 _Won’t answer or can’t answer?_ Clint silently asked Natasha.

 _Doesn’t know how to answer._ She replied.

“How much time passed between Loki’s death and reappearance?” Fury continued his questioning.

“One year.”

* * *

Thor looked on as everyone in the room fell quiet.

“Thor said that Loki can make illusions.” Stark pointed out when the silence began to drag on. “What else can he do?”

“Loki is a trained warrior of Asgard. He can fight with various weapons and he is considered a strong sorcerer. He is a master of illusion. In battle he can create a smoke screen and make multiple impressions of different people at once to confuse enemies.”

 _‘Are you going to give away everything?’_ Loki’s voice accused and Thor stopped from saying more as he noticed the awe and realization of what he said sunk in.

“He did not use all of his combat skills out there?” Hill asked.

“He did not.”

“Will you be able to give us a more detailed report on how you believe the invasion would have gone along with a list of Loki’s skill set?” Fury asked.

Thor weighed the options. The Allfather disapproved of giving information but he believed that he could use this to understand what had been going on with his brother. “Aye. It will be brought to you with the results of the scepter.”

* * *

Agent Hill led Thor through the medical halls after the two stayed behind to review the footage of the invasion. There were a couple of rooms near the one occupied by Loki that Asgard’s healers could use. She let Thor know that they could move in three beds into one room and clear out the next one to be used for storage.

She spoke to an agent taking care of inventory and told him which rooms needed to be prepared while Thor visited Loki.

* * *

The agent followed Hill’s orders and notified Loki’s doctor of the changes approved by the director. When his tasks were finished, he met with his superior away from SHIELD’s base.

“We are running out of time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Everyone is putting more of the pieces together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> This is a work in progress and may be edited later.


End file.
